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NASB | 1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 2:2 And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature--our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world. |
Subject: How do we preach the Gospel? |
Bible Note: George, Truly the Bible is God's Word. However, if a person has no belief in it or believes that we were a product of evolution, then using the Bible would perhaps produce little or no results. Therefore, one has to use 'tools' that this person will accept, thus laying a 'foundation' that hopefully will lead to them looking into the Bible. For example, if a person is an atheist, would using the Bible convince him that there is indeed a Creator ? However, if one reasons with him or her on the construction of the Universe, giving evidence that there has to a Creator, then this can possibly have an impact on their 'looking' into the Bible. Please allow me to use an example, a person believes that we evolved. Those who accept this theory feel no accountability to a Creator, for in their mind no such person exists. Several questions can be asked that might lead one to start seriously thinking that life could not have arisen by itself, that is "evolved". ( 1 ) If "man" evolved, then where did the woman come from? ( 2 ) If man and woman evolved, how did they manage to get together? ( 3 ) If man and woman evolved, then how did "evolution" know to to make it where these two could produce a child? ( 4 ) When one looks at a car, and you ask them where did this vehicle come, they will tell you that it was manufactured; in other words, it had a maker, a mind being used to design and arrange all the pieces to form a car. Then ask, If a car had a maker, then how could you say that we evolved, we being far, far more complex than any car will ever be? Let's consider for a moment about the basic building blocks of life-amino acids. This is a stubborn problem that confronts evolutionary theory. Remember, there are over 100 amino acids, but only 20 are needed for life’s proteins. Moreover, they come in two shapes: Some of the molecules are "right-handed" and others are "left-handed." Should they be formed at random, as in a theoretical organic soup, it is most likely that half would be right-handed and half left-handed. And there is no known reason why either shape should be preferred in living things. Yet, of the 20 amino acids used in producing life’s proteins, all are left-handed! Also,what chance is there that the correct amino acids would come together to form a protein molecule? It could be likened to having a big, thoroughly mixed pile containing equal numbers of red beans and white beans. There are also over 100 different varieties of beans. Now, if you plunged a scoop into this pile, what do you think you would get? To get the beans that represent the basic components of a protein, you would have to scoop up only red ones-no white ones at all! Also, your scoop must contain only 20 varieties of the red beans, and each one must be in a specific, preassigned place in the scoop. In the world of protein, a single mistake in any one of these requirements would cause the protein that is produced to fail to function properly. Would any amount of stirring and scooping in our hypothetical bean pile have given the right combination? No. Then how would it have been possible in the hypothetical organic soup? The proteins needed for life have very complex molecules. What is the chance of even a simple protein molecule forming at random in an organic soup? Evolutionists acknowledge it to be only one in 10(113) (1 followed by 113 zeros). But any event that has one chance in just 10(50) is dismissed by mathematicians as never happening. An idea of the odds, or probability, involved is seen in the fact that the number 10(113) is larger than the estimated total number of all the atoms in the universe! Some proteins serve as structural materials and others as enzymes. The latter speed up needed chemical reactions in the cell. Without such help, the cell would die. Not just a few, but 2,000 proteins serving as enzymes are needed for the cell’s activity. What are the chances of obtaining all of these at random? One chance in 10(40,000)! More difficult to obtain than these are nucleotides, the structural units of DNA, which bears the genetic code. Five histones are involved in DNA (histones are thought to be involved in governing the activity of genes). The chance of forming even the simplest of these histones is said to be one in 20100-another huge number "larger than the total of all the atoms in all the stars and galaxies visible in the largest astronomical telescopes." Hence,it is necessary to reason with people, just as Jesus did, for he used illustrations and examples that the Jews were personally familiar with and accepted. |